the diary of a real-food zealot

ThermoServer

With Winter smacking us in the face this week, I felt the need for a nice thick, warming stew. But having had (what I considered to be) too much meat for some days prior, I wanted something plant-based… that would satisfy me.

Knowing how damned good legumes are for us (very high fibre and plant-based protein) and having a bag of mushrooms in the fridge that I knew needed to be used up, I began the search for a recipe but as usual, nothing I found comprised a vast array of veggies. So, true to form, I ended up adapting; fusing two different recipes together: one Thermomix Lentil & Veg Stew with a Mushroom & Lentil Bolognaise recipe on taste.com.au.

While I chose to make this using my Thermomix, it could be easily replicated by non-Thermie cooks because it’s a one-pot recipe. But a word of warning to Thermomix users: the quantities I used brought the bowl contents right up to the maximum (2 litres) so if you’re a little reticent, perhaps halve the quantities. It will still result in a decent amount of stew.

Thermomixers: Add the onion (quartered) garlic cloves, roughly chopped carrot and celery to the bowl and chop for 5 seconds @ Speed 5. Scrape down sides then cook for 3mins @ 100ºC on reverse Speed 1. Meanwhile, dice the potatoes and roughly chop the mushrooms. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the potatoes, mushrooms, lentils, stock paste, water, bay leaves and passata (or tomatoes). Stir gently before locking the lid in place and cooking for 45 minutes @ 100ºC on reverse Speed ‘Stir’, with the MC off and the basket (or a light dishcloth draped) over the top to catch splatters.

Stovetop Cooks: Finely chop the onion, garlic, carrot and celery, then warm the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the veg and cook for 3-5 minutes (until onion has softened) stirring occasionally while you dice the potatoes & roughly chop the mushrooms. Add the potatoes, mushrooms, lentils, stock, bay leaves and passata (or tomatoes) to the saucepan and bring to a gentle boil before reducing to a simmer, partially covered for approximately 40 minutes.

Allow the stew to rest for at least 5 minutes (ThermoServers are the perfect receptacle) before serving so that the some fluid may be further absorbed by the lentils. It’s a perfect meal on its own, or with spiralised zucchini noodles, but you could add some pasta if you feel that you need “carbo-loading” 😉

I have to admit I became a little distracted in my yoga class this afternoon. Somehow apples popped into my head (go figure?!) and my Samadhi was lost; the ‘Train of Thought’ left the station and a Craving was born. I was mulling over ideas for a warm apple dessert, but I knew an apple pie was out of the question. Waaaay too much time and effort.

So when I got home I looked up apple recipes in the Thermomix Recipe search engine, knowing that I was really looking for something ‘apple-crumble-ish’, to make it quick (minimal time between making and eating) but I realised they all still required oven baking. Pshhh!

So I decided to go with a ‘deconstruction’. As long as it was warm, I didn’t care.

For a single serve, one apple is plenty. I chopped it up roughly and threw it in the Thermie for a quick ‘Turbo’ smash-up (keeping the skin on – the more fibre the better!) then added about 10gms of water and set it to ‘stew’ for 3 minutes, 70ºC, Reverse Speed 2.

I popped the stewed apple straight into my serving dish (Thermie owners could put it in their Thermoservers to keep VERY warm, if you could be bothered to wash another item) showering it with ground cinnamon, then put 50gms walnuts in the bowl and chopped for about 6 seconds on speed 5-6. Adding 30gms coconut oil, 5-10gms coconut sugar and roughly a tablespoon (5gms) of psyllium husk I set it to cook for 2 minutes at 100ºC, Reverse Speed 2.

Scooping it straight into the dish with the apple, I poured in some fresh cream, garnishing with shredded coconut, then mixed it all up before taking the first spoonful. SO yummy. SO quick. SO satisfying. Instant gratification!

They are the quintessential sweet tooth’s Sunday breakfast. I always thought they were too much work…until about a year ago. When I got my little ‘Magic Bullet’ blender, the elbow-grease factor became zilch. And really, in terms of ingredients, they have never been a difficult option.

I am not coeliac, nor am I even gluten intolerant, but I have discovered enough about the stuff to want to cut it from my diet. In the event that the information I have is incorrect, I choose to avoid it for no other reason than the amount it bloats me (and you really have to give the stuff up, then consume it again to notice the difference).

Coconut pancake FAIL

So my pancakes of choice are made with buckwheat flour (now that I have my Thermomix, I’ll be milling my own, yippee!) but I have experimented with a few different kinds. Coconut doesn’t work so well for me (see pic) but quinoa is nice, if a little bitter. There is so much fun to be had, mucking around with a basic pancake recipe!

This Sunday just gone I created the gourmet feast you saw above, based on cinnamon buckwheat pancakes. If anyone wants to spoil their mother this Sunday (Mother’s Day) you may want to pay attention as I divulge recipes for three parts of the meal, over the next few days. Just to confuse, I’ll start here with the pancakes, even though they’re last likely to be the last thing you’ll create.

Pancakes really are too easy. The ratio is pretty much 1:1:1. One cup of SR flour, one egg & one cup of milk. And that will feed two people (since I’m only one I halve the amounts – which makes the pancakes a little more ‘eggy’ – but I don’t mind, more protein for me!) So my buckwheat pancakes demand thus:

Pop your frypan on a medium-low heat, drop in some coconut oil and blend the pancake ingredients well. Drop a small amount of batter in first, to make your ‘tester’. If that bubbles, turns easily and browns nicely, go for your life with the rest! Stack on one plate or if you’re ‘particular’ about them remaining really warm, you’ll have needed to preheat your oven on a low temp so you can shove them in there as you cook. (Thermie peeps can chuck them in a ThermoServer…ain’t nuthin’ goin’ cold in that thing!)